View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP4OnVC1mNY
"...man, where would we even
start?" wondered Kensuke. "We've gone through so much over the past few weeks that it feels like it's been literally
months."
"...well, Ken probably got the only kiss he'll ever get," idly remarked Toji.
"TOJI!" roared Kensuke, even as everyone looked quizzically at them.
"I smell
gossip," said Ren with a grin.
"A kiss?" dumbly repeated Mayumi.
Ignoring Kensuke's protests, Toji answered, "From Akane Hasegawa, after the whole thing with the Kuchisake-onna on the 13th. Must have been pretty harrowing, if she showed her gratitude like
that."
Shinji blinked with surprise. "Hasegawa-san kissed him?"
"...a kiss?" Mayumi repeated again.
Flushing wildly, Kensuke waved his arms about like a fool. "L-Look, it was just a peck on the cheek when I wasn't looking! That's all!" Slugging Toji in the shoulder (much to Suzuhara's amusement), Kensuke nonetheless added, "but...that
was a pretty eventful day, all things considered. Between the
Ai ferry, nearly getting killed by Minazuki, and nearly getting killed even
harder by that Minako lady...that was the closest I've ever felt like a hero."
This time, Toji bopped
Kensuke in the shoulder. "Hey, you, me, and Sakamoto-sensei were helping to kick ass in the fog in Tokyo-2!"
"And you did pretty well against all those Archetypes when we fought Armisael," remarked Mana.
"That was still me being a support, though," protested Kensuke. "I mean, the Archetypes summoned by the Angel had practically
zero resistances to Ozymandias's Ailment Skills. What are the odds of
that ever happening again?" Huffing, Kensuke leaned back on his hands, staring up at the stars. "But with Hasegawa-san...even though we ended up needing to be saved by her dad and Shinji...me and my Persona are the reason that she lived long enough to even get to that point. Someone's alive today that wouldn't be otherwise...because of
me." Smiling with a strange sheepishness, the bespectacled boy added, "Even in spite of everything else that happened...that makes it worthwhile. I'd like to think so, at any rate."
"Kensuke," murmured Shinji, thinking back to all of their conversations: about the hole left by their lost mothers, their issues with their respective fathers, and everything that had spawned from that.
Toji, in his typical brashness, retorted, "Yeah, I still think it's 'cause you got kissed by a girl."
Hidden though they were in the darkness of night — with only the nearby lights along the bridge, as well as the stars, providing ambience of any kind — Aida's huffy shifting of his glasses was impossible to ignore. "I'll remember that next time you start staring a little too long at a 'certain someone' in class."
"Come on dude, stop trying to make me and the Class Rep a thing!"
"Ah
ha, I didn't even
mention Horaki-san!" crowed Kensuke.
"...he kind of has a point, Suzuhara-san," admitted Shinji.
"So he does this a lot?" asked Mayumi, peering suspiciously at Toji. "Hmm...could it
be...?"
Somehow, Toji's flushed face could be seen amidst the shadows. "Hey, get off my case!"
(Ren gleefully rubbed his hands together. This was free entertainment!)
Crossing his arms, Toji blustered on in an attempt to change the subject. "But yeah...this whole trip was pretty crazy. For all the crap that happened...it feels weird to me that Iori-san and Amada-san aren't with us, anymore." The mood immediately soured, given the topic. "They kind of had the same vibe that Sakamoto-sensei has; that you just
knew they were going to make it through, somehow. And then...they were gone." Scratching at his hair, he soberly added, "still can't believe Sakamoto-sensei wanted me present during the last part of their funeral."
"Why's that?" asked Mana.
"...it is custom for only close family members to help remove bones from the ashes of the cremated," explained Mayumi.
"That's
my point. I mean...I've only known sensei for about a month-and-a-half, now. What have
I done to get that kind of treatment?"
"You're his apprentice, and he has no other family of his own, it seems," observed Ren. "Seems pretty obvious to me."
"...I don't know how to feel about that," Toji admitted.
"Well...at least you'll have plenty of stories to tell your sister," remarked Shinji, steering the conversation away from Toji's complicated feelings about death and its impacts in his life.
Toji chuckled. "Ain't
that the truth. Bet she'll enjoy all the stuff involving the Emporium and the Feathermen."
"...that's right..." said Mana suddenly, reaching up for the circlet resting on her forehead: the gift that had been so graciously given by Emerald Eagle on the 7th. "That wasn't that long ago, was it..."
"...I assume the matter regarding your brothers has dominated your thoughts," stoically observed Rei.
"...yes...but also no." Mana slowly stood up, looking across the waters. "Quick question: what's with the town?" She gestured toward the eastern edge of the lake, where no lights could be seen; only further along the southern shores did the signs of life return, closer to the bridge. However, as her tracking hand continued westward, one could see how at a certain point, the lights all went dark again once they got sufficiently far away from the bridge, only to start back up again beyond the western shores of the lake.
"There was a severe Pattern Blue here some years back that rendered much of Fujikawaguchiko into a Dead Zone," answered Rei, speaking from memory. "However, the Kawaguchiko bridge was judged to be a strategically important thoroughfare that helped connect the Kōfu Basin to Tokyo-3, and so dedicated teams were implemented on shifts to nullify the Dead Zone around the bridge. The rest of the town was...not deemed to be as important, given the personnel required."
Mana hummed noncommittally, staring at the darkness and the streak of light that was the bridge: a solitary beam, cutting through the night. "...Dead Zones can be reversed, given enough time and effort...even bigger ones, if people really value what's underneath them. But some are just too big...and even for a city like Old Tokyo, people thought it was better to focus on the living than to try and rescue a relic of the past...least, that's how I remember Tokita talking about it." Clenching her fist impulsively, the child soldier continued on. "But who decides what's not worth fighting for...?"
"...Mana-san?" wondered Mayumi aloud.
Mana huffed, sounding as if a great burden was being shrugged off...then, with a forlorn sigh, picked it back up again. "A heart lacking courage...a mind without conviction...or a will bereft of iron...all the power in the world won't matter if I don't have those." Walking back towards the group, she sat down on the patch of grass she had claimed for herself. "Those are the words Rio-san told me. Emerald Eagle, I mean," she quickly added. "Then, days later, we fought Armisael, and freed Yamagishi." Looking towards the other girl, she said, "Most people probably would have written you off, the moment they realized you were bound to an Angel...but we didn't. And now...you're still here." Crossing her arms over her knees, Mana continued to spill forth words (coincidentally missing the quiet sniffling from Mayumi). "...it
sucked, to find out that my brothers had fallen in with Strega...but would I have been any different, if they had been the ones to take me in after escaping Tokita, instead of Katsuragi?" Pressing a hand against her chest, she concluded, "I...I can't give up on them. I
won't give up on them. We've...we've been through too damn
much..."
"And we'll be there to back you up!" exclaimed Toji, pumping his fist. "Right?!"
"Of course," agreed Kensuke.
"...it should go without saying..." Shinji trailed off, finally noticing Mayumi's sniffles. "Yamagishi-san?"
"...it...still doesn't quite feel real...what happened during the last new moon...to find out about my connection with Armisael...to awaken to a Persona...and then, the very next day, to find out that the price of freedom included the deaths of my mother and father..." Her sigh was hitched, akin to an engine trying to turn over on a cold morning. "...and yet...even with everything that's happened...the upheaval, the chaos, and all those dying...these past few weeks have still been the best of my life..." In the dim of night, she could barely be seen, taking off her glasses to wipe at her face. "It feels wrong to say...but that's how I
feel..."
"...I think I understand," said Shinji, feeling a slight burst of
empathy. "Millions of people died during Second Impact...yet life went on. Many people around us have died...yet we still endure. Even now, with what happened to the government, everyone is...trying to find a way to move on." Clutching at his knees, he added, "maybe...maybe that's why Kurosawa-san was so willing to sacrifice himself in Tokyo-2...even though he knew he would die...he was willing to do what it took to ensure others lived on..."
"...he could have been less of a jackass about it though," grumbled Toji, followed swiftly by a loud
smack. "OW! Damn it Ken!"
"Too soon, Toji."
"I ain't wrong though, am I?!" protested Suzuhara. "Sure, he may have gone out like a champ...but does dying make up for that? I mean, you heard all the stories at the wake and the funeral about Amada and Iori, right? People were sharing funny stories, embarrassing tales, even things about 'em that pissed others off...just 'cause you die like a hero doesn't mean everything ya did gets to be forgotten."
"...I agree, Suzuhara-san," Shinji found himself admitting, slowly looking towards Ayanami. "Death...it
can't erase everything about a person's life...but I think the way they die provides context about who they were, and what they valued." He wondered if the same would apply to him, one day. "This road trip...was so much more than I ever thought it would be."
Ayanami interjected. "And what stands out to
you, Ikari-san?"
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSHWvd0KkNw
...what a question. (What could he answer?) "...realizing just how much of an impact that Sakura-sensei had on me..." (The matter of his strangely spotty memory lingered; did it have anything to do with the nature of reality, trapped as humanity was within the Sea of Souls?) "That time when Sokila-chan visited us...that was also pretty enjoyable..." (Why did his attendant bring such
joy to his life?) "And..." What else could he say? What else
could be said? "...even as I learn more about my power...and about the nature of the world..."
(In the darkness, Kensuke, Toji, Mana, and Mayumi looked amongst each other with knowing expressions.)
(This did not escape Rei Ayanami's eyes.)
(Nor Ren's, for the matter.)
"...I don't
want to run away," he loudly whispered. "Even though I want to, sometimes...I don't
want to go back on what I promised to do...even if it's hard, even if it's painful...I want to keep
trying..." Because what would the alternative be? To just sit back and die, to just accept a wretched fate?
His Other stared at the Moon.
"You've tried that path before; what did it avail you?"
The Beast stared into the pits of Hell.
"It was an honest fate, freely chosen...perhaps you'd care to give such bloodshed a second try?"
"...so please forgive me in advance, everyone..." he said, with a bowed head.
"What for?" wondered Mana.
"...because even if I take a stand, I feel like I'm going to fall down a lot...but I'll keep trying, I promise-!" His self-recriminations were interrupted by the wretched double noogie. "Ow ow
ow-!"
"No time for sadsacks!" growled Suzuhara, grinding his knuckles into Shinji's scalp.
"You sound like an old man, sometimes," joked Kensuke, rubbing wildly at Shinji's hair. "How many times are we going to have to teach you this lesson?"
With great difficulty, Shinji extracted himself from their gasp, wincing from the slight ache on his head. It gave Mayumi the opportunity to say her piece. "Ikari-san...no one's perfect. We don't expect you to
be perfect...because who are we to ask that of you?"
"Seriously Shinji, we're all supposed to look out for each other. That's the whole point of why we did the whole 'Team Statherós' thing, right?" said Kensuke with a hidden grin. "Better together than alone, right?"
"...right," murmured Shinji with an appreciative sniffle. (
You've made a vow. What will you do to keep it? What are you willing to endure in order to become who you want to be?)
"...it seems that you've all endured much," quietly said Ayanami (who, unbeknownst to them all, was quietly contemplating the undertones of what they had said, and what their ramifications could be). "I'm sure I will learn more tomorrow at NERV."
(Unseen by all, Ren couldn't help but smirk.
You've got some pretty good friends, kid.)
The chatter eventually wore down, until finally they fell into a quiet slumber, with only each other, the rippling lakeside waters, and the stars above for company.
xxxx
END OF 8/22/2015
xxxx
/after 23 days of in-story time (interrupted as it was by two interludes)
//and 265 days of IRL time (just little over a week shy of 9 months)
///the main party's summer vacation has come to an end at last
////next time, we finally return to Tokyo-3
